Soft agar colony formation of bladder cells during carcinogenesis induced by N-butyl-N-(4-hydroxybutyl)nitrosamine and application to detection of bladder cancer promoters.

N-Butyl-N-(4-hydroxybutyl)nitrosamine (BBN) was given to male Fischer 344 rats at a dose of 0.05% in drinking water for 2, 4, 6 and 12 weeks, and double soft agar colony formation of the uroepithelial cells was determined periodically, during and after this administration. In the group administered BBN for 2 weeks, no significant colony growth was observed until week 8. In the group given BBN for 4 weeks, colony growth was observed at week 4 and the numbers of colonies remained constant until week 8. In the group given BBN for 6 weeks, significant colony growth was observed at weeks 6 and 8. In the group on BBN for 12 weeks, colonies grew from week 4 and significant numbers of colonies were observed from week 6, increasing up to week 10. Colony formation preceded papilloma development in the rat bladder, and was dependent on the duration of BBN administration. The effect of amino acids and sodium saccharin on colony formation was also evaluated. The rats were given 0.05% BBN for 3 weeks, followed immediately by the administration for 9 weeks of 2% L-tryptophan, 1% D-tryptophan, 2% L-leucine, 2% D-leucine, 2% DL-leucine, 2% L-isoleucine, 2% DL-isoleucine or 5% sodium saccharin in the diet. At week 12, the numbers of colonies were significantly higher in the groups given sodium saccharin, L-leucine, DL-leucine, L-isoleucine, DL-isoleucine and D-tryptophan. This method provides a potentially useful approach toward analyzing the early events in bladder carcinogenesis and may be applicable to detect new bladder carcinogens and promoters.